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Louisville tree house builder branches out into microhouse construction

138-square-foot home destined to become bed and breakfast

By Doug Pike

Colorado Hometown Weekly

Posted:
08/11/2014 05:41:04 PM MDT

Updated:
08/11/2014 05:50:14 PM MDT

Louisville resident John Griffin stands inside his finished microhouse in Louisville. The 138-square-foot home was sold to a Lyons couple who plan to use it as a bed and breakfast. (Mark Leffingwell / For Hometown Weekly)

John Griffin is no stranger to small-scale construction.

During the past five years, the Louisville resident has built more than 100 elaborate, custom tree houses up and down the Front Range through his company, TreeHouse Colorado.

If anything, his foray into microhouse construction seems overdue.

"I build tree houses, so this seems like a natural progression," said Griffin, who recently completed his first microhouse project in his backyard.

At 138 square feet, Griffin's microhouse actually comes in 6 liveable square feet smaller than the largest tree house he has built. It's one-tenth the size of his modest Grant Avenue home. But a peek inside quickly reveals a whole new level of finished comfort and sustainability.

Griffin said the required attention to detail was painstaking at times.

"It's a lot more challenging than building a tree house, or even a typical home, because I have to think of every single inch, every centimeter really, or things don't fit," Griffin said. "If you're off an inch in traditional construction it's not a big deal. In here, it can cause big problems."

The tiny home features a composting toilet, a metal roof with a 40-year warranty, butcher block countertops, carpet and linoleum flooring and a mini-oven big enough to roast a turkey.

Electricity is provided by a regular 120-volt extension cord, water is supplied from a garden hose and the heater, water heater, stove and oven all run off a standard propane tank.

Griffin estimates that on the Front Range the annual cost to operate the pint-sized house would be around $400.

"People putting a smaller footprint on the planet is a big appeal," Griffin said, though he added that much of the interest in the microhouse movement comes from "ultra-conservatives trying to avoid paying taxes."

Griffin has been following the microhouse movement for some time and attended at workshop at Tumbleweed Tiny House Company in Boulder before launching his build.

With average price tags between $40,000 and $70,000 and virtually no construction requirements, Griffin said buyers should be cautious that their microhouse builder hasn't cut any corners.

"The nice thing when you do something on your traditional home is the city makes sure you do it right," Griffin said. "With tiny homes, there's no permitting, no design requirements. It just has to be off the ground.

The microhouse built by Louisville resident John Griffin is nestled between trees in his backyard. The home was sold and will be delivered to Lyons next week. (Mark Leffingwell / For Hometown Weekly)

"I've never built anything before that was designed to travel down the road, so I was sure to bolt everything down twice."

Griffin, who started construction on the tiny house in January 2013, erected the tiny house between trees and outbuildings on his property in downtown Louisville.

He said he constantly gets questions from people walking down the alley behind his home as to what the building is.

"People usually just say 'What the heck is that?'" Griffin said. "(Boulder County is) a popular area for tiny houses in terms of interest. But I'm not sure there's a lot of them sitting on the ground, yet. It's really not even on Louisville's radar."

Griffin sold the microhouse to Lyons couple Kenyon and Juli Waugh, who plan to eventually use it as lodging through their company, Wee Casa Su Casa. The home is scheduled for delivery next week.

"I just like the idea of living small and the whole movement. My plan right now, and I'm trying to get it approved by the Town of Lyons, is to use it more as lodging," Kenyon Waugh said. "We have over 200 weddings in Lyons each summer and we have no lodging. So this would serve more of a B&B purpose."

Waugh said he would eventually like to acquire microhouses with different layouts from several manufacturers so that when they aren't in use for lodging, people interested in potentially buying a microhome for themselves can try them out.

"The plan right now is to put it on a piece of land in Lyons so people can get a look at it," said Waugh, who lists himself as the WeeEO of Wee Casa Su Casa. "John did a lot of research with different builders and he really did use the best of all worlds."

Griffin said he plans to sleep in the micro house's 70-square-foot sleeping loft at least once before it gets hitched up and towed away for good.

"It's going to be sad to see it go," Griffin said. "It's been a big part of my life for two years."

His venture into microhouse construction won't be his last. But Griffin said future projects will be done to customer specifications.

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